Review: The Wedding Beat

Summary: Sometimes the best man isn't even in the wedding party... 

Gavin Greene is a hopeless romantic. He's also a professional one: he writes the wedding column for a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper, covering spectacular parties from coast to coast. But there's a thin line between being a hotshot reporter on assignment...and being a single guy alone on a Saturday night at someone else's wedding. 

Everything changes on New Year's when Gavin meets Melinda, a travel writer with enchanting dimples. A moonlit stroll across a Manhattan rooftop seals the deal. Until an Aussie with attitude swoops in and whisks her away before Gavin gets her number.

Gavin crisscrosses New York City to find her again. And he learns that there's something worse than losing the woman of his dreams: Having to write an article about her wedding. -- New American Library

With summer rapidly approaching, I'm always on the look out for some light and breezy books. There are few things I enjoy more than reading alongside the pool or at the beach, and I know many of you agree. One book that I thought was a lot of fun (and certainly a worthwhile way to spend a few hours) is THE WEDDING BEAT by Devan Sipher. You could probably classify THE WEDDING BEAT as chick lit, but there's one thing that makes this novel a little different than your typical "girly" book -- the story is about a guy and it's written in his voice.

THE WEDDING BEAT tells the story of Gavin, a man whose job it is to cover weddings for a major New York newspaper. (This just happens to be the same job the author has so I'm guessing the reader gets an insider's view into upscale weddings!) He is also a big time romantic and is desperately wants to find his dream woman, settle down, and live happily ever after. He's not having much luck in the romance department until he meets "the one" at a party. The problem is he let her get away without getting any contact information. Gavin does his best to find her with the little he knows, but he has no luck... until he finds himself covering her wedding for the newspaper.

I thought THE WEDDING BEAT was a cute story and a fun escape read -- i.e. an ideal book to read this summer. It's light and breezy and certainly funny, and Gavin is an interesting and entertaining character. I have to admit that this is one of those novels that I don't try to analyze -- I just sit back and enjoy the story. However, there were few parts of the novel that did give me a little bit to think about. Some of Gavin's comments on love and relationships were surprisingly insightful. In addition, there were some scenes in this book that touched my heart, and I don't even consider myself to be a  romantic!

As is often the case when I read a novel like this one, I find that the story lends itself to the big screen. THE WEDDING BEAT was no exception. Many parts of this book did read like movie and it would probably make a very cute chick flick. (Interestingly enough, some say that the James Marsden character in the movie 27 Dresses was based on the author.)

If you are looking for a cute escape read about finding true love, then I suggest you take a look at THE WEDDING BEAT.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy of this novel.